2010.10.31

I've been a little surprised lately at the number of families I know who do not celebrate Halloween. I have always known some who chose not to, for whatever reason, but the number seems to be growing as of late, particularly among evangelical Christian families. While I respect everyone's right to choose what and how to celebrate, I thought I would take this opportunity to share my perspective on Halloween, and the reasons we celebrate it.

First and foremost, it bears noting that the word "Halloween" is a shortening of of "Hallow E'en," or "Hallow Even," or more fully, "Hallows Evening." The relationship of Halloween to All Saint's Day, or All Hallows Day, bears review. Back in 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV chose May 13 as a day to remember Christian Martyrs. The date was moved to November 1 in the 8th century, and was widely celebrated by the time of Charlemagne in the 9th century. The eve of this holy day (Hallowe'en) was used for vigil - prayer for the saints and witnesses of our faith who have gone before us and have given their lives for what Christians believe.

So why dress up? Some medieval Christians used to dress up on Hallowe'en as their favorite martyr: given the gruesome deaths many of these saints faced, it was probably not a pretty sight! Others dressed as ghouls, ghosts, and other spirits not out of fear, but to mock them. After all, the foundation of All Saint's Day is that Christians have a hope that goes beyond death and the grave, and there is no need to fear. Even the practice of "trick-or-treating" can be linked to a Christian tradition: the practice of "souling." In Britain, poor Christians used to go door to door offering to say prayers for the dead in exchange for "soul cakes."

But what about the connection to pagan festivals, specifically the Celtic festival of Samhain? There is undeniably a connection, but no more so than any other Christian holiday. Both Christmas and Easter are connected to pagan festivals celebrating seasonal life. Since the time of Jesus himself, Christianity has always been an "outside" religion, spread to new lands and cultures by the earliest believers. It was common practice for Christians to adapt festivals and rituals of those with whom they were evangelizing, and the Celts were no exception. It makes sense that many of the traditions and customs of Christian holidays resemble those of the cultures that existed before Christianity arrived. It doesn't make them less meaningful or more "un-Christian."

Candy, Jack-O-Lanterns, and costumes have about as much to do with martyrs as Santa, stockings, and mistletoe have to do with the birth of Christ; or eggs, bunnies and baskets of candy have to do with his resurrection. Yet Christians are willing and eager to remind everyone the real reason for those two celebrations. Then why not re-claim Halloween? Why not teach our kids that there have been very important people like the Apostle Paul, Thomas Beckett, Joan of Arc, Thomas More, William Tyndale, and others who have died in order to propagate and protect the beliefs Christians hold dear? Why not choose to mock death and evil by dressing up? For that matter, why not use Halloween as a time to thank God for the abundance with which he has blessed us? (Walk into the candy aisle of any retail store in October and the word "abundant" will surely spring to mind!) If Christians feel that Halloween is too focused on the powers of evil, it is only because they have allowed it to be. Saying that Halloween is a Christian holiday may be overstating it a bit, but then again, Christianity has as much of a claim on Halloween as it does on Christmas or Easter.

Finally, I think it is important to say that we here in the U.S. sometimes forget that history goes back much farther than us. We didn't invent Halloween, or Christmas, or Easter. Sure, our capitalist machine has taken them to new heights of excess and popularity, but reaching back in to history we can find traditions and customs that are rich with a depth of meaning we often forget. Particularly in evangelical Protestant churches, much of our Christian heritage is not taught or emphasized, but is incredibly meaningful.

So whatever you choose to do today, I hope it will be filled with meaning and enjoyment. As for me, I'll be trick-or-treating with my kids and reminding them - or trying to, at least - of the reasons why we do what we do!

2010.10.19

"Qu’ils mangent de la brioche." Jean-Jacque Rousseau tells the story of a famous princess in France who, when told that the peasants have no bread to eat, replied, "then let them eat cake." (Actually, it was brioche, a luxury bread enriched with eggs and butter.) There is a similar story in Chinese culture about a 3rd Century emperor who was told that there was a famine and, consequently, no rice to eat. He is said to have replied, "If they do not have rice, why not eat meat stew?" The basic point is that the royalty in both of these scenarios were so far removed from the reality of the poor, they could not even comprehend how little they had. It makes me wonder where we are today.

There is a great website I stumbled upon years ago called Global Rich List. Based on my current income, I am the 54,758,156th richest person in the world. That's in the top 1% of everyone in the world, which means that 99% of the WORLD has less money than me.

And yet, when I look around, I am surrounded by people with MORE than me. I have difficulty comprehending why the poor just can't eat meat stew when they are out of rice, because I live in an environment where my bounty seems like scarcity. Further, when I feel compelled to engage with those who have less than me, I don't know what to do except to GIVE. I was never sure why this was such a struggle for me, but Kiva founder Jessica Jackley does a wonderful job of capturing it in this TED talk.

So I am caught in this vicious cycle where I feel compelled to give, but all the emotions associated with helping the poor are negative (guilt, pity, suspicion, etc.), so I end up avoiding the situation entirely. Being quite frank, the driving force behind my desire to help the poor is my faith, but because I can seldom find satisfying ways to live out this conviction, I live with the guilt of NOT doing anything.

To me, it is remarkable how many people profess to have the same faith I do, yet campaign viciously against government programs that help those who are in poverty. But maybe they face the same negative emotion cycle I do, and the easiest way to cope with an inability to comprehend the poor and live with the guilt of not helping is to imagine that all poor people are lazy and irresponsible and don't deserve help from others. And perhaps my desire to see government programs that help bring justice and aid to those in need is an easy cop-out - just tax me and give to the poor so I don't have to be involved in the dirty work. Either option is a far cry from what Jesus told us to do.

I must admit that I have known about Kiva and microloans for a while now, but have not yet taken the plunge. I am in love with the idea, but as Jessica says in her talk, I am a little bit scared. I'm not sure what I'm scared of, but I know that's what I feel. In the past, I've been a supporter of Heifer International, and have bought livestock to help poor families break the cycle and change the trajectory of their lives. Why should I feel any different about Kiva?